and customer insights at ESB, Irish Times senior features writer Rosita Boland
Back row (from l – r): Rob Kinsella, The Irish Times Group Media Solutions, former Irish Times
environment editor Kevin O’Sullivan, Gavin McAuliffe The Irish Times Group Media Solutions,
Dave Hendrick The Irish Times Group Media Solutions, and Kritika Verma dentsu Ireland
Following on from the success of the inaugural Ireland’s Greenest Places initiative, the Irish Times has launched the 2026 competition with sponsor Electric Ireland in a collaboration that was created by the Media Solutions Team at the Irish Times Group and dentsu Ireland.
The initiative invites readers to nominate towns, villages, neighbourhoods and other locations that have made significant contributions to environmental sustainability. Nominations will be assessed over the next four months by an independent judging panel, which will shortlist entries, conduct site visits and select category winners before naming an overall national winner.
The initiative received significant industry recognition following its launch in 2025, winning Gold at the European Sponsorship Awards as well as honours at the Media Awards and the INMA Awards.
This year’s judging panel includes Eamon Ryan, former environment editor at The Irish Times Kevin O’Sullivan, Irish Times senior features writer Rosita Boland and Lisa Browne. They are joined for the first time by Éanna Nà Lamhna and sustainability consultant Shannen Healy, who is known online as @_greengal. The panel will evaluate submissions before selecting winners across multiple categories and naming Ireland’s Greenest Place for 2026.
